My Emperor Father Can Read Minds

Wei Yu’s situation right now is like being caught reading a novel in class and having the teacher call on you.

Is he nervous?

Definitely nervous.

If asked whether he’s scared?

Actually, not too bad.

Wei Yu reacted quickly, years of sneaking around the study allowed him to shut off his tablet in half a second. Then, he casually looked up, pretending to observe the surroundings…

Oh no.

Why is Eunuch Li standing next to him?

Wei Yu felt something was off. Staring at Li Cheng’s soft smile, he instinctively looked forward.

But halfway through turning his head, he stopped. Li Cheng whispered beside him, “Ninth Prince, His Majesty calls you forward, please go.”

Wei Yu: …

This is bad.

He’s gone from casually slacking to stepping on a mine.

Used to being unnoticed, suddenly called by his father, Wei Yu didn’t understand what was going on but felt quite weak inside.

What did he do? Why did his father suddenly call for him?

Could it be because he saw the Eighth Prince, and in a fit of fatherly love, thought of his Ninth Son and called for him to come?

Save me.

Feeling a fiery and oppressive gaze above, Wei Yu knew his emperor father was staring at him.

It’s been a long time since he was called, and his mood was in a full swing.

Wei Yu took a deep breath, stood up obediently, and prepared to walk toward his emperor father.

The young man was handsome and elegant, slender in build. It wasn’t obvious when kneeling, but now standing, it was clear that he was a bit taller than several of his older brothers.

Emperor Wei narrowed his eyes as he looked at his son standing. For a moment, he felt a bit unfamiliar.

He truly didn’t have a strong impression of this son. Occasionally, he’d hear people in the harem talk about the Ninth Prince being pure, simple, honest, and upright… Basically, they were saying the Ninth Prince wasn’t very smart!

It might hurt their father-son relationship to admit it, but both Wei Yu and Emperor Wei knew the truth.

— Their father-son relationship wasn’t very strong.

Over the past fifteen years, they had barely seen each other, so how could they have any fatherly affection?

And if it weren’t for the Eighth Prince constantly thinking about the weird things Wei Yu had done, Emperor Wei wouldn’t have called him…

As Emperor Wei pondered, listening to the thoughts of his other sons, suddenly a strange voice appeared.

[…If I got struck by lightning, I’d just take a good rest. At my age, still pushing myself like this, I really don’t know what sudden death is! So what’s wrong with letting me finish watching the preview!]

Emperor Wei: …

He stared at Wei Yu, now sure that the voice that just popped up was his!

Never mind why he couldn’t hear Wei Yu’s thoughts before or how far his ability to hear others’ thoughts reached, Emperor Wei only wanted to know one thing.

— What is a “preview”?

“Finish watching the preview,” what does that mean?

Emperor Wei didn’t understand.

Wei Yu, being obedient, stepped up. When he was about three meters from the bed, he stopped, bent down, and apologized to Emperor Wei.

“Your Majesty, I’ve been worried about your health. I got distracted for a moment and didn’t hear your command. Please, Your Majesty, take care of your health and don’t be angry.”

He was honest, and his tone was quite sincere.

Eighth Prince: …

If I didn’t know my Ninth Brother’s character, I might actually believe him.

Ignoring the Eighth Prince’s thoughts, Emperor Wei looked at Wei Yu, his gaze probing, and after a few seconds, he said, “Oh? Since you’re so filial, why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing these past few days while I was unconscious?”

Ah…

Wei Yu was momentarily silent.

[How do I explain this? Should I say I spent my days tricking the little eunuchs with pastries and binge-watching dramas and novels? Ugh, should I just say I’m a literature enthusiast and read books in an orderly fashion?]

Emperor Wei: ?

After hearing all of that, Emperor Wei truly didn’t understand what Wei Yu was saying.

A royal prince, and he’s tricking little eunuchs for pastries every day?!

How embarrassing!

What’s this “binge-watching dramas” nonsense? What kind of thing is that? Do you need a brush to “watch” dramas? Why does a prince need to “watch” something?

Novels? What’s that, books? As for “literature enthusiast,” it sounds okay, but Emperor Wei still felt confused.

What’s going on with Wei Yu, always saying things that don’t make sense!

Not knowing what Emperor Wei was thinking, Wei Yu quickly came up with an answer. After thinking for only a couple of seconds, he responded, “Replying to Father, these past few days, with Your Majesty’s health declining, we were all anxious. But other than going to the study to read, I didn’t know what else to do, so I’ve just been reading in the palace.”

[Reading novels is still reading books, right? I’m such a small useless prince that if the emperor dies, it has nothing to do with me. I won’t fight for the throne with my older brothers. Being emperor is troublesome… Oh, wait, does this count as rebellion? Tsk, successful rebellion cases are rare and risky, not recommended.]

Emperor Wei stared at Wei Yu with a deep gaze, unsure whether to scold him for lying or praise him for his boldness.

Without speaking, Emperor Wei just looked, while Wei Yu and the Eighth Prince stood obediently. Even the other princes kneeling on the floor didn’t dare move.

Wei Yu counted the seconds. At thirteen seconds, his father spoke.

“I’ve heard that you and the Eighth Prince have a deep brotherly bond. Between you two, who performs better in your studies?”

Wei Yu and Eighth Prince: …?

This is really out of nowhere.

Wei Yu: [Why is this like when elders ask kids if they’ve finished their homework during the New Year?! So annoying!]

Eighth Prince: [Father hasn’t forgotten about the homework thing, huh? But how should I explain this? Should I say that I don’t dare take lessons seriously with Ninth Brother, and that we only ever do half of the assignments given by the Grand Tutor on purpose, so I’m always the worst among my brothers?]

Emperor Wei immediately fell silent.

But Wei Yu responded, “Replying to Father, I am dull, and in academics, I’ve never been as good as Eighth Brother. Eighth Brother is better than me.”

Wei Yu frowned, pretending to be troubled, and cast a pitiful glance at Emperor Wei.

He really did look like someone not too bright.

[Finally got Father’s attention. Might as well help Eighth Brother. He still has the Third Princess to protect, so it’s good to get him some small favor. Hmm, if Eighth Brother succeeds, I’ll enjoy the benefits too…]

Wei Yu’s thoughts slipped into Emperor Wei’s ears. While the latter part was nothing of note, the earlier part made him pause in surprise.

This boy actually gave up the chance to win favor for someone else?

Emperor Wei stared at Wei Yu deeply.

Having gone through the prince stage himself, Emperor Wei knew how difficult and hard life could be for a prince who wasn’t favored and lacked the protection of a mother.

He thought that even without the “mind-reading technique,” he could still understand these young ones’ thoughts!

But unexpectedly, in just a short exchange, his previously ignored youngest son had given him an answer he hadn’t expected!

— Ninth Prince Wei Yu didn’t want to compete for favor, and didn’t want to be emperor.